Where Darkness Dwells
by M1ss Reaper
Summary: Syndra has awoken from her eternal slumber and finds herself free but in an unfamiliar Ionia. Trying to understand this new world around her, she finds herself making an uneasy alliance with the shadows themselves. With foreign threats looming and inner conflicts on the rise, she has to decide where darkness dwells. (Summaries are hard, and I am not any good with them. Sorry.)


Hey! I re-wrote the first chapter because I honestly did not like the first one I posted. I Was just a bit too excited and posted something I wasn't proud of. So I restarted the story and will start working on Chapter 2 soon. I hope everyone has a happy holiday!

* * *

Syndra stirred in her bed, feeling a gentle breeze brush across her face. Upon opening her eyes she saw the sky was just starting to turn a navy blue. Syndra grabbed one of her many pillows, hugging it to herself. She loved the mornings. There was something about the peaceful quiet, cool temperatures, and most importantly the beautiful sunrise to come that put her in a tranquil mood. She squeezed her now slightly deformed pillow one last time and then slid herself out of bed. Padding over to the window, she looked out to a now blushing sky. A sphere of dark magic winked into existence, nuzzling into her neck. A smile grew on her lips as she breathed in the crisp morning air.

It felt like mere moments had passed since she was trapped in an eternal slumber. Imprisoned in her body by the spirit of Ionia. Her magic almost fully suppressed, she was trapped within her own mind. Unable to free herself Syndra remained imprisoned until she was almost forgotten by the people of Ionia. Only when the bloodthirsty nation Noxus had attacked, plunging Ionia into chaos, did Syndra's unconscious body have a chance to be free once more. With Noxus rapidly gaining ground into the island continent the Ionians grew increasingly restless, and many were growing reckless.

In the ancient fortress of Fae'lor, the threat of a Noxian occupation was becoming a terrifying reality. A small group of Fae'lor mages decided to disobey the elders who had kept Syndra hidden all these years, and free her to protect the fortress. It did not take long for the mages to break into the cave where Syndra slept. Her awakening had been sudden and uncomfortable with a sword to her throat, and the desperate peasants demanding she protect Fae'lor. She only smiled as her long-suppressed power rushed out and decimated them, she was finally free and vowed to never again be at another's mercy. Syndra did not stop at the foolish mages who had freed her. Her rage at the confinement was far from being quenched, and she proceeded to take her rage out on Fae'lor as a whole.

Drained from using a significant amount of magic due to a recent acquisition of the fortresses' largest tower; Syndra forced herself to rest above one of Ionia's magical forests. Here she would recharge and regain her physical and magical strength. Only leaving her tower to trade with the tentative Vastaya for the basic essentials. After a few days of laying low, Syndra was at full power again. On that day, she danced through the skies, her spheres were twirling around her as she rose into the air. She hadn't noticed she had an audience of feathered Vastaya, that grew the longer she flew. She only stopped when one had whistled at her.

She looked down at the whistler. He was a very alluring Vastayan, with a feathered cape made up of the colors of the setting sun. He looked out of place as he was surrounded by dark indigo and violet feather capes. Yet he stood proudly in front of them and offered a hand out towards Syndra. She was reluctant at first, remember the last time she took the hand of someone only to be betrayed by them in the worst way. Yet she remembered the Vastaya from her own time and knew they were always curious about her. They did not approach her back then, but they were always watching her from the trees when she walked around their forests. With Syndra's insatiable curiosity she slowly descended towards the man until she hovered just above the ground in front of him. She refused to take his hand, but simply inclined her head.

To her surprise, he chuckled and allowed one Vastayan who was hidden in the sea of violet capes stepped forward. A female, who she found out was their leader as everyone stepped out of her way. She introduced herself as Xayah and told her that the Vastayan people had been watching her for some time. She told her that this part of Ionia was under the protection of the Vastaya and that humans were not welcome. Syndra had asked why she hadn't tried to chase her out already. Xayah had shrugged delicate looking shoulders, saying that Syndra was not harming the forest or its magic and that they already had their plate full with Ionians and Noxians who wanted to claim the forest's magic as their own. She had started something amazing to Syndra after that, "Magic is wild and meant to stay wild. It is not to be harnessed and tamed like so many Ionians already try to do." She then explained that this little rabble she had collected was her rebellion, who would eliminate anyone who dared to try to tame their magic.

Syndra understood their plight. Xayah had made sure she did, but that didn't change who Syndra was. What Syndra did. She was one of the people who sucked the life out of the land to fuel her own dark magic, and she told this to Xayah. Expecting her to ridicule her or even attack her on the spot. To Syndra's surprise, she only nodded, saying she knew Syndra was siphoning magic from the forests. Exactly like her own people had been doing for centuries. Xayah was amazed to see anyone who wasn't Vastayan able to do so without the aid of a siphoning crystal. Xayah offered to have her tribe teach Syndra how to control her siphoning so that she would no longer damage the forest around her. Syndra refused immediately. Saying that she would not be someone's pupil again.

Xayah frowned at this, but still, she did not attack. That's when the whistler spoke for the first time, "You do not wish to be controlled, and neither do we." Syndra pinched her lips at this. The whistler looked triumphant as he went on to say that they would not force her to do anything that she was unwilling to do. That they only wanted to prevent a potential conflict between them. That allowing them to teach her would open up even more power to her. A "win-win" for both of them. Syndra got more power, and the magic would remain free. "Someone who can dance as you do doesn't deserve to die," he said ending his argument. Xayah was evidently shocked by what this man who she would learn to be Rakan had said. He proposed a deal Syndra could not refuse, even though she still dreaded the thought of being "taught" again. The Vastaya were often referred to as legendary mages. Mages that people feared. Mages that were caught and suppressed, just like she was.

Syndra accepted the arrangement as long as she was free to stop training whenever she pleased. With Syndra's one condition accepted, Xayah brought her to her village. Many of the Vastaya were uneasy with Syndra in their home but kept any comments to themselves. Xayah introduced her to many of the tribes elder mages, none of which spoke her a word in her own tongue. This frustrated Syndra. How was she supposed to learn anything from people who spoke only gibberish? Xayah introduced her to her trainer last, a young woman. Barely older than Syndra. She introduced herself as Suenim, before going back to her mediation. Syndra rolled her eyes, already contemplating leaving without looking back. How could someone so young even begin to compete with Syndra's own power let alone teach her anything?

Suenim proved her wrong that very next day. Well mostly wrong. She held far less raw power than Syndra, but she knew how to control the flows of magic far more than she could. How to bend magic effortlessly, while not letting it overwhelm you. Syndra soon grew to enjoy her sessions with Suenim. Syndra finally felt in control of her own dark magic, which was something she had been yearning for since she was a child. Syndra soon mastered the technique to the shock of Suenim, but meetings with her became necessary distractions for Syndra. They allowed her to forget the new troubles of her life, with the strange surroundings and unfamiliar faces. It allowed her to forget that she did not have a place in this world.

Syndra snapped out of her memories, her mood soured by her own thoughts. It worsened more when she realized that there was nothing that would clear her mind of these thoughts. Suenim and her tribe had to relocate as they waited for Noxian scouts to pass through their forest. Xayah and Rakan had stopped by to Syndra's dismay and told her of this. They also warned her to stay hidden if she did not want Noxus to send troops to her front door. She heeded their advice and had stayed in the tower for over a week now. Waiting for the all clear from her Vastayan allies. She hadn't seen any camps from her tower, let alone armed patrols. She wondered if their intel was even correct with how silent the forest has been this past week. Scouts or not, Syndra had become very bored over the past week, and being bored did not suit her. With a sudden smile spreading across her face she intended to change that today.

* * *

It had been almost a week since Kayn was at the order, and he was starting to wonder if this was a waste of time. He had dealt with a few Noxians, but they seemed like stragglers to the bigger group. A group that had yet to be found, or even leave a trace. The Vastaya could have already dealt with them, but then why hadn't they chased him out of their forest. He wasn't exactly welcomed here, but they haven't shown him the door yet. Very unlike them, especially after their unfortunate victory over Zed and his siphoning crystal. The forest was disturbingly still, which disturbed Kayn.

"Kayn," said one of his scouts from behind him. Kayn snorted, wondering if he was bringing good news or more of the same. To Kayn's confusion, he asked a question. "Do you remember the attack on Fae'lor?"

Kayn had known of the attack, but Zed investigated it himself. Everyone in the old fortress was dead when he got there, and the fortress itself was in ruins. The most extensive damage was to the largest tower which had just disappeared. The culprits for this attack were never found, which bothered Zed. They were efficient enough to take over a fortress in a single day, powerful enough to make the largest tower disappear, and dexterous enough to escape without any evidence of them breaking in. Most disturbing was the attack seem to have started from within the very depths of the fortress itself. This made the culprits incredibly dangerous, and Zed ordered everyone to keep their distance. No one was allowed to approach any suspect on the matter without him present.

"Of course I remember," Kayn snapped back at the scout. "What about it?" The last thing Kayn needed was for the Fae'lor attackers to be here. Though that could explain why the forest was so silent.

"We found it's a tower. Its floating just northwest of here, hidden by the small valley." Kayn's grip on his scythe Rhaast tightened. They had assumed the tower was turned to dust and blew away, or had been reduced to pieces and teleported away. The fact that it was just floating over a magical forest complicated things.

"How many?" Kayn asked. Debating on whether to disobeying Zed's orders. If he brings him the heads responsible for the Fae'lor attack, he might not punish him for the lack of Noxian related information he was sent to gather originally.

"We do not know," said the scout quietly which put a dampen on Kayns plans. His annoyance was reflected in his eyes to the scout. Prompting him to scramble for a better answer. "There is at least one light lit within the tower at any given time, but only one person has exited the tower."

"Do you know where this man is now?" Kayn asked feeling Rhaast beginning to stir.

"I will take you to her," The scout said his eyes seemingly relieved.

'A woman, we don't kill them often.' Rhaast chuckled in Kayn's head.

* * *

Syndra only hesitated a moment before she walked down the steps of her tower. She tentatively exited from a lower balcony of the tower, which she had turned into her entryway. As she slowly floated down slowly, the smell of fresh air immediately relaxed her nerves. She landed and wandered about the grounds where the tower floated above. Once she had stretched her legs to her satisfaction she wanders over to her favorite spot. Syndra sat in the shadow of a tree and started watching the koi in a pond nearby. She let her dark spheres dance above the waters. The fish seemingly dancing along with them. It was a beautiful day, and it supplied a refreshing retreat from a week of confinement.

Syndra watched her magic dance well into the day as she picked nearby wildflowers, enjoying the variety of their purple hues. They would be a nice addition to her tower's tea room. Glancing back up she saw the sun was well into the sky now, and with a bouquet of wildflowers and a clear mind, Syndra decided she should return to her tower. She wanted to get the flowers into a vase before they started to wilt, and then finish off the day nestled in her nest of pillows her favored tea in hand. She summoned her spheres back into their usual orbit around her and raised her body to float just above the grass.

As she started to make her way back to the tower she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up on end. Someone was watching her, but when she glanced around all she saw was the shadows of nearby trees. She adjusted her mantle, one of the many gifts from Suenim, and landed on the ground. Assuming a rather relaxed position. She raised her head, glancing around once more before calling out to the hidden beings.

"This is rather pathetic, wouldn't you agree?" She said to the shadows with nothing but a soft breeze in response. "You outnumber me, yet you still feel the need to cloak yourself in shadows. Am I truly that terrifying?" She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted slightly. Slowly a few bodies started to emerge from the shadows. All brandishing their useless weapons, a pointless gesture of strength. She had counted 7 so far, but Syndra knew that there were at least 13 still in the shadows. They were cautious of her, that was clear. Why though was baffling to Syndra. It was twenty on one, yet they were treating her like they were on equal standing. These were cowards, and Syndra did not care for cowards.

Syndra demonstrated her annoyance by summoning a larger dark sphere directly in front of her, forming a small crater around it. This made the rabble of men take a step back, and Syndra grinned as a few more showed themselves. She stepped on top of the orb in front of her, basking in their fear of her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a bow that was fully drawn. She did not fear the lone archer. She held out her hand out towards him, gesturing to let the arrow fly. Without hesitation the arrow was sent, only to be stopped abruptly in front of her fingertips. She snatched the arrow out of the sky and balanced it on her fingertip.

"Honestly," she breathed out. "What did you expect to come of that?"

"A good question," said a voice right next to her ear. Startled Syndra flew upwards, safely out of the reach of the voice. She looked down at a smirking man, with long dark hair. The right side of his body was covered in a metallic red and black skin. He carried a red scythe made of similar same material. The scythe had a bright red eye where the handle connected to the blade, and it was just staring at her. Syndra stared back defiantly, which cause the smirking man to chuckle. Syndra summoned another sphere where he stood, but he dashed right the moment before it impacted. His chuckle turns into a laugh, and Syndra responded by pushing a wave of her dark magic into his chest. The laughing stopped, and the man was knocked to the ground breathless.

It was Syndra's turn to laugh as the man slowly stood back up, and brushed the dirt from his body. Her smile was short lived as the others started their attack. She was unsettled when their shadows started to come to life. They were aberrations of their master's body, mimicking their moves. The shadow projectiles where tangible which Syndra learned the hard way when one nicked her arm. She hissed at the pain, but that only fueled her own assault. She summoned sphere after sphere, and for every sphere summoned she threw or pushed another somewhere else.

The shadow warriors were on the defensive. All but one of them. The man with the scythe seemed to be enjoying this fight. Dancing around her magic with relative ease. Syndra made sure he could not get close enough to her to swing that damned scythe at her, but it was not an easy task. He was miles ahead in skill to the other warriors, but he also seemed to lack most of their strange magic. He made up for this in pure physical prowess. To Syndra's relief, a few of his men had fallen, while the others were starting to slow. She was winning this fight.

She looked down at her trampled flowers on the ground that she had worked so hard picking out, and thinned her lips. She did not want this. She did not want to have to fight today, but she would not confine herself any longer. These Noxians had made her hide away in her tower to avoid conflict and drove her preferred company far away. Then they decided to attack her the one day she decided to get fresh air. Adding insult to injury they only attacked her with twenty-one men and expected to win this battle. A fatal mistake.

"So this is all Noxus has to offer?" she mocked her anger fueling her words. The scythe man suddenly stopped his attack. He raised a hand, causing the other warriors around him to stop as well. This left Syndra in a confusion induced paralysis.

"We are not from Noxus," he growled.

"Then who are you?" she snapped back.

"That doesn't concern you."

She did not know why she expected him to answer her question. His greeting was not exactly a friendly one, but then again he did not spend those precious seconds he was next to her to land any blows. Syndra, freed from her paralysis, relaxed her body slightly and resumed a less threatening pose. The man narrowed his eyes but did the same. She scanned the shadow warriors, who seemed to be relieved with this sudden truce between them. Many of them were injured, and a few were lifeless on the ground. Syndra lowered herself from the skies to float just above the ground.

"What's your name?" he asked when she reached eye level with him.

"What is yours?" She returned his question. He chuckled at this, running his fingers through his hair.

"Kayn."

"Syndra."

"Pleasure," he said with a smile. He looked around, seeming to assess the state of his warriors. "You are quite a vicious fighter Syndra. There is no doubt that you are one of the people who attacked Fae'lor keep." She raised an eyebrow, he knew of that? She was sure she had left no survivors, perhaps he stumbled across the ruins she had left.

"I was the only person there. and it was I who destroyed that fortress." She smiled when his eyes narrowed. The disbelief was clear to see on his face, and his men shifted. You could almost see the tension in the air. Kayn raised his hand again, and Syndra began to rise into the air. Preparing herself from another round of dodgeball. Kayn made a weird movement with his hand, and hesitantly the warriors began to merge back into the shadows. Syndra was confused by this and expressed as much.

"What are you planning?" Syndra questioned.

"My men need to lick their wounds," he shrugged. "There is no point for them to stay."

"You are a brave one," Syndra jester.

"Why did you attack Fae'lor?" Kayn asked, no humor in his voice.

"Because I was their prisoner," Syndra replied nonchalantly.

"They had no prisoners. That fortress studied magic and trained mages." Syndra frowned at this. Did no one know of her imprisonment?

"Whether you believe me or not is irrelevant. They feared me and tried to contain me. I will not be restrained."

* * *

Zed watched from a window as his scouts returned. His eyes narrowing when he saw that many were injured, and a few were dead. His medics were already running among the scouts, as well as a few of his advisors. He had not expected the scouts he sent with his apprentice to return in such bad shape. His eyes scanned the courtyard, looking for his apprentice. It did not take long to locate Kayn. He was half-carrying one of the scouts towards the medical wing. Zed needed his full report as soon as possible and sent his shadow to intercept him. He turned away from the window to lean against the wall. Waiting for his apprentice to report on the cause of the scene in the courtyard.

Reports of Noxian scouts in the northern forest along with Jhin's recent escape and several small attacks on border farms had his men spread thin. He had hoped that Kayn would have made quick work of the Noxians, but that did not seem to be the case. The wall on the other side of Zed started to deform, and it wasn't long before Kayn had emerged from it. He bowed deeply, before approaching Zed. Kayn looked unsure as he approached, and that confirmed what Zed had been thinking. They found nothing out, and that made Zed's current headache increase significantly.

"You better have something to give me," Zed growled. Kayn bowed his head again, knowing Zed's anger was justified. "Otherwise go back out there, and find something."

"We found a few Noxians, but the majority managed to stay far out of reach of my blade master."

"That is not enough." Zed knew he was being unforgiving, but failure was not an option in their world. "The men I sent with you all came back wounded or worse, and all you have to give me is that you have killed a few of them?"

"Master, my men were not injured by Noxian hands," Kayn interjected. This stopped Zed from continuing his lecture. If not the Noxians then it must have been the Vastaya, but even Xayah was not reckless enough to attack a scouting squadron without fear of retaliation from him. Before Zed could speculate who had attacked them Kayn then pulled out a small piece of paper, and handed it to Zed. No words were exchanged as Zed peered at the drawing on the page. A woman whose features were almost distinctly Ionian was drawn across it. She wielded strange magic while floating above the graphite ground. A truly odd sketch.

"Who is this?" Zed broke the silence.

"The woman who lives in the missing tower of Fae'lor, and claims to have single-handedly taken the fortress. She was also the one who did all the damage to my squadron and sent them running for the hills. She is the reason I bothered coming back with nothing on the Noxians at all because I knew you would want this information as soon as possible." Zed looked at this woman again. She reminded him of an old tale his old master used to tell him. It was about a mage who hadn't learned to control herself and ended up killing her own master along with several of her classmates. A story so familiar to him now, but he struggled to remember how the story ended.

"She still lives I presume?" Zed asked, and Kayn nodded his head.

"She also claims that she killed them because they had imprisoned her," Kayn added as if he had just remembered that little piece of intel. Zed knew Fae'lor had its own dark secrets. He intended on forcing them to allow him into their inner sanctuary before they were attacked. Knowing that they were hiding a power similar to the power the Kinkou had locked away. Needless to say, the sanctuary was bare when he got there. There was only one thing out of place, a large cave that rested underneath the fortress. It had been broken into recently, but anything carried out of that cave had to be only as large as a human body. Inside there were small pools of mana littering the floor, along with bodies who had been soaked with mana. He knew of a magic the elders of Ionia used to subdue dangerous mages looked similar to this, but he had never heard of them actually using the spell.

"Kayn, I have another mission for you," Zed stated pushing away from the wall. Kayn was left speechless by the sudden change in Zed's mood. "You are to go to Fae'lor with a few of the healthier scouts that are remaining from your failure. You are to go through all their records till you find anything supporting her claim."

"Master you can't believe—"

"Enough," Zed said, silencing his student. "Do not question my orders."

Kayn bowed and departed immediately, with Zed following shortly after, putting the sketch of the mage in his pocket. She had already proven herself by fighting off Kayn and his men, but if her claims prove to be true then she could be a valuable ally to the shadow order. She could also be a dangerous enemy. He would have to tread carefully these coming days.


End file.
